Oil Prices Tumble Amid Tariff Jitters

23 Jan 2025 , 10:23 AM

Amid concerns about the potential effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on a number of nations on global economic development and energy demand, oil prices continued to decline in early trading on Thursday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) dropped 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $75.26, while Brent crude futures dropped 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $78.79 a barrel.

Brent futures ended the previous session at $79.00 after losing for five days in a row. WTI futures saw a fourth straight day of falls, closing at $75.44.

If Russia does not reach an agreement to cease its war in Ukraine, Trump has threatened to impose further penalties on the country. He went on to say that “other participating countries” might also use these.

He also claimed his government was considering a 10% punitive fee on China since fentanyl is being shipped to the United States from that country. He also pledged to put 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and to levy duties on the European Union.

In the meantime, an extended Reuters poll predicted that U.S. crude oil inventories would have decreased by an average of 1.6 million barrels during the week ending January 17.

According to estimates, gasoline inventories increased by 2.3 million barrels last week.

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